Fayyad angry Ayalon insisted on 2 states for 2 peoples; UPDATED with interview with Ayalon
A meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and 'Palestinian' Prime Minister Salam Fayyad ended in acrimony on Tuesday when Ayalon insisted that the meeting say 'two states for two peoples' and not just 'two states.'"I wanted that at the very least it will note two states for two peoples. I demanded to know what they meant. One Palestinian state and one bi-national state, or another Palestinian state?," the deputy minister told Ynet. "I made it clear that we were out of the picture if the summary didn’t say two states for two peoples."Hmmm.
In the meeting, Ayalon said that Israel will continue to support the Palestinian economy, even without its consent, but noted that Israel's security needs must also be taken into consideration.
Fayyad asked to further ease Palestinian movement in the West Bank, to which Ayalon replied: "We shall not gamble away Israel's security and future. Everything depends on the security situation and am agreed-upon political solution."
The deputy foreign minister also demanded guarantees that donation money will not be used for incitement or a boycott of Israeli products.
The meeting's summary was written by the Norwegian representative whose country heads the AHLC.
Both US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell and Quartet envoy Tony Blair participated in the earlier part of the meeting. Blair supported the Israeli stance. Representing the Palestinian side were Fayyad and Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.
UPDATE 9:04 AM
The Jerusalem Post spoke to Ayalon during the night about what happened.
"What I say is that if the Palestinians are not willing to talk about two states for two peoples, let alone a Jewish state for Israel, then there's nothing to talk about," Ayalon told the Post in a telephone interview. "And also, I said if the Palestinians mean, at the end of the process, to have one Palestinian state and one bi-national state, this will not happen."What could go wrong?
When asked if he was surprised by Fayyad's abrupt exit, Ayalon responded, "Yes, very."
"I was very surprised that there was apparently no acceptance of the idea of two states for two peoples," Ayalon told the Post. "I also said that I don't need the Palestinians to say Israel is a Jewish state in Hebrew. I need them to say it in Arabic to their own people."
"If the Palestinians think that they can create one Palestinian state and one dual-nationality state, this will not happen," Ayalon added.
"What will happen next is we'll see what are the results of the negotiations that are taking place now," Ayalon told the Post. "But Israel will not accept an all or nothing approach, or any ultimatums or any preconditions."
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:34 AM
3 Comments:
"Blair supported the Israeli stance." ---- And what about George Mitchell?
Carl - think a peace agreement is closer?
When the most moderate Palestinian rejects a real two state solution, I would say its further away than ever.
The Palestinians still cannot reconcile themselves to the existence of Zionism and the legitimacy of Jewish nationhood.
That is the real reason the Palestinian Arab-Jewish conflict has endured for over a century and it shows no signs of going away for good in the future.
There will be no peace in our lifetime.
Ayalon pointed what really needs to happen is the Palestinians need to educate their own people there is a Jewish State and they will have to accept it as the price of having their own country. They refuse to do so.
Its true then there is nothing to really talk about. Don't hold your breath waiting for Obama or the Quartet to convey to the Palestinians that they must drop their opposition to recognition of a Jewish State if they want something from the talks.
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